1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an immobilized microorganism and a process for preparing the same. More particularly, the invention relates to a growing microorganism immobilized on a carrier made of a polymer-reinforced fabric having a network structure, and a process for preparing the same. The present invention is applicable to many fields such as the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry and medical care.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fungi, bacteria, Actinomycetes and other microorganisms are extensively used in the food and pharmaceutical industries and in medical care, and the importance of these "bio" industries is constantly increasing. Conventionally, microorganisms used in these fields are treated in a batch system wherein the microorganisms are dispersed in a liquid culture medium. One major disadvantage with this batch system is its low utilization of the microorganism of interest because of the need to recover the end product from the microorganism in each batch culture. In order to solve this problem, considerable effort is being made forwards "immobilizing" a microorganism in a carrier such as a polymer gel by either binding or encapsulation techniques, so that the microorganism can be used in continuous cultivation. However, the conventional technique of using a polymer gel as a carrier is not applicable to aerobic microorganisms since their growth is appreciably limited by the inadequacy of air permeation into the carrier and insufficient diffusion of the liquid culture medium. Therefore, it has long been desired to develop a carrier which has high air permeability and permits good diffusion of a liquid culture medium and which is hence suitable for use in continuous cultivation of aerobic microorganisms.